There exist in today's market devices, such as document scanners, which serve to scanned documents, for example passports, ID cards, drivers' license, business cards and the like. Typically, a document scanner with a CCD array is mechanically and optically designed to scan documents having substantially the same dimensions, typically standard dimensions. For example, business cards are typically 90 mm×50 mm. Similarly, US drivers' license is typically 86 mm×54 mm. Hence, both document types can be scanned by the same document scanner. But a passport page is typically 130 mm×95 mm and should be used by a different document scanner.
Typically, in portable image acquisition apparatuses, the transparent surface on which the document to be scanned is placed bare and do not include a lid. Referring to FIG. 1 (Prior art), an image acquisition apparatus 20, having a body 24, is shown. A document, such as a passport, is place adjacent to a substantially transparent window 22, having an external surface. A camera 26, disposed inside the internal space of housing 24, acquires an image of the document.
Typically, image acquisition apparatus 20 further includes illumination means to illuminate the document face to be imaged. Often, the illumination includes rays of wave length, such as UV, that are blocked by the document, whereby preventing such potentially harming rays from reaching the user.
For efficiency/economic reasons, image acquisition apparatus 20 is also used to image other documents having a smaller form than a passport page (representing a “large form document”), for example a business card or a driver's license (representing a “small form document”). However, in such cases, harming light rays may escape around the smaller documents margins and thereby endanger the user.
One solution is illustrated in FIG. 2 (Prior art), which illustrates a perspective view of a portable image acquisition apparatus 60 for acquiring image frames of a passport page. Apparatus 60 includes a fixed cover 70 which blocks rays from escaping the image apparatus. But inserting a small form document through slit 80 requires turning the whole apparatus 60 upside down in order to remove the document after the scanning operation.
Thus, there is a need for and it would be advantageous to have a device such as a cover for the image apparatus that covers facilitating handling multiple sized documents that blocks rays from escaping the image apparatus.